Sticky, tricky situation
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 10, 2010 -

With Delhi holding the referee whistle of 'defer the visit', at least for the moment, the question of whether Mr Th Muivah will enter Manipur or not has eased to a certain extent. This however does not mean that everything is fine, for the stand off between the Government of Manipur and the NSCN (IM) over the proposed visit of Th Muivah to his birth place, with Delhi firmly holding the remote control, has now transformed into some sort of a muscle flexing exercise between the peoples on either side of the Greater Lim issue.

The economic blockade imposed on the two National Highways by the All Naga Students' Association, Manipur with the backing of a large number of Naga civil societies, has now unofficially extended into the territory of Nagaland, if reports of Manipur bound trucks set ablaze on the Nagaland side of the border as well as goods laden trucks stranded at the Assam side of the border with Nagaland are anything to go by.

For the record the economic blockade imposed by ANSAM had nothing to do with the proposed visit of Th Muivah, but with the upcoming election to the ADCs, but now the two issues appear inextricably related to one other.

On the other hand, the United Committee Manipur has announced a ban on the movement of passenger buses connecting Imphal to the district headquarters of the hill areas. This came along with the 48 hours, later slashed to 24 hours, bandh called by the All Manipur United Clubs' Organisation to oppose the proposed visit of Th Muivah.

This brief sketch of the scenario should be enough to make the people realise that no one can take a wrong step, however minor, it may appear for Manipur is literally walking on a tinder box at the moment.

Adding to the tricky and sticky situation was the announcement of the United Naga Council, advising the Nagas settled in Imphal to head for their ancestral homes, as a preventive measure, while nevertheless acknowledging the message of communal harmony spread by the valley based civil societies.

Taking a cue from this, the Naga Hoho has gone to the extent of dubbing the ban on the movement of passenger buses from Imphal to the hill district headquarters as 'keeping people in hostage.' Down the years the politics of the peace talk between Delhi and the NSCN (IM) has taken different turns and twists and an exercise in recapping some of the past experiences will show, how the peace talk has impacted on Nagaland and Manipur.

In June 2001, when Imphal literally burnt and was turned into a fortified military zone, complete with curfew and round the clock strict security measures, not much was heard from the people of Nagaland to the opposition raised against the clause 'without territorial limits.' However in 2005, when ANSAM imposed the now infamous 52 days economic blockade, we saw how support was extended by the Nagaland based Naga Students' Federation, which is the apex body of all Naga students organisations in the country.

Today, the Naga Hoho, Ao Senden and some other Nagaland based organisations appear to have taken up the cause of the idea espoused by Mr Th Muivah. This is something of an indication that the rhetorics and sloganeering raised by the NSCN (IM) leadership may have succeeded to a certain degree amongst some Nagaland based civil society organisations, though the question of whether the common man on the streets of Kohima or Dimapur are bothered or not is a different question. The idea or ideology of the peoples on different sides of the Greater Lim demand has also thrown up an interesting development, which is worth introspection.

The idea of a united Manipur, with its territorial integrity intact, was first sounded on August 4, 1997, when AMUCO staged the then biggest ever rally and attended by a number of prominent personalities from the hills. This voice was raised just a few days after the cease fire between the IM group and Delhi came into effect on August 1 of the same year. From the voice of a civil society organisation, the slogan of a united Manipur spread fast and what followed were the various attempts being made to reach out to the hill people.

Now a number of armed outfits, dominated by the Meiteis, have also sworn to protect the integrity of Manipur. On the other hand, the idea of a Greater Lim was first conjured up by the NSCN (IM), a rebel group. and was later passed on to the Naga civil societies, especially in Manipur.

The source and the course of the people's involvement in the Greater Lim issue will prove interesting and significant in bringing a better understanding of the genesis of the issue.

For the moment, we would like to appeal to the UCM to reconsider its decision to ban the movement of passenger buses from Imphal to the hill district headquarters, as it could lead to greater misunderstanding. At the same time, we would also like to urge the UNC not to press the alarm bell and spread the notion that the hill people are being held hostage here. If anything, the 2001 uproar should stand testimony to this.